"With a career like mine, it would have been normal for me to have played for Brazil," said Deco. "There are players who have worn that shirt and haven't achieved half of what I have.

"Playing for Brazil would be the most natural thing in the world for a player who won everything with Porto, was an uncontested first-team regular at Barcelona for four years and plays for one of the world's biggest clubs.

"Of course it's a special match because I'm Brazilian and have been connected to Brazil all my life," he said referring to the Group G clash with Brazil in Durban on June 25.

"It's a different game to the others but of course I want to win.

"I will defend the Portuguese shirt until the end...and if I score no Brazilian can see this as a betrayal against the country where I was born."

Belgium, Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico and Tunisia have also used Brazilians in past World Cup finals and, three years ago, Fifa president Sepp Blatter said the World Cup could be swamped with Brazilian players.

"If we don't stop the fast naturalisation of players in some countries, this will be a real danger," Blatter said. "There were 60 million footballers in Brazil but only 11 places in their national team."

Rules now state that players must have a clear connection to the country they want to play for or have lived there for at least two years.